Hanger and track for sliding doors and the like

ABSTRACT

AN ELONGATE LONGITUDINAL, PREFERABLY L-SHAPED CROSS SECTION AND PLASTIC TRACK IS SECURED AT AN UPPER EDGE OF A DOOR OPENING AND LONGITUDINALLY SLIDABLY SUPPORTS A DOOR THROUGH HANGERS FASTENED TO SAID DOOR. EACH HANGER IS INVERTED GENERALLY L-SHAPED IN CROSS SECTION ENGAGING UPWARDLY OVER A TRACK FLANGE AND DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID TRACK WITH A RESILIENTLY DEFORMABLY KEEPER PROJECTING GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY UNDERLYING AND ADJACENT SAID TRACK. THE KEEPER THEREBY NORMALLY RESTRICTS UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE HANGER TO RETAIN ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE HANGER AND TRACK BUT IS RESILIENTLY DISTORTABLE UPWARDLY AGAINST THE TRACK FOR PERMITTING UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE DOOR AND HANGER TO DISENGAGE SAID HANGER FROM SAID TRACK. THE HANGERS MAY BE FORMED UNITARY OF PLASTIC WITH THE KEEPERS   OF REDUCED CROSS SECTION FOR RELATIVE RESILIENCY AND THE REMAINDERS OF THE HANGERS INCREASED CROSS SECTION FOR RELATIVE RIGIDITY.

Oct. 26, 1971 G. .J. PLEMENG l 3,615,144

HANGER AND TRACK FOR SLIDING DOORS AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 5, 1969 I lev v 2o Y v36 32 5o 2a se 2*-1 FIGJ.

INVENTOR. Ie GORDON J. PLEMENG i l; l BYMAHONEY,HORNBAKER J24 J 2 ANDSCHICK l ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,615,144 HANGER AND TRACK FORSLIDING DOORS AND THE LIKE Gordon J. Plemeng, 1321 N. Myer St., Burbank,Calif. 91506 Filed Dec. 3, 1969, Ser. No. 881,655 Int. Cl. E05d 13/02U.S. Cl. 49-411 8 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE An elongatelongitudinal, preferably L-shaped cross section and plastic track issecured at an upper edge of a door opening and longitudinally slidablysupports a door through hangers fastened to said door. Each hanger isinverted generally L-shaped in cross section engaging upwardly over atrack flange and downwardly into said track with a resilientlydeformably keeper projecting generally transversely underlying andadjacent said track. The keeper thereby normally restricts upwardmovement of the hanger to retain engagement between the hanger and trackbut is resiliently distortable upwardly against the track for permittingupward movement of the door and hanger to disengage said hanger fromsaid track. The hangers may be formed unitary of plastic with thekeepers of reduced cross section for relative resiliency and theremainders of the hangers increased cross section for relative rigidity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved hangerand track for sliding doors and the like and more particularly, to aunique hanger and track combination wherein the sliding doors arenormally retained engaged with their supporting tracks and againstinadvertent disengagement therefrom, yet when it is desired to removethe doors from their supporting tracks, such removal may be accomplishedmerely through a positive upward and transverse movement of the doorswithout the necessity of removal of any track or hanger parts. Even moreparticularly, the unique door hangers of the present invention eachinclude a resiliently deformable keeper projecting therefrom underlyingand adjacent the door supporting track, normally retaininglongitudinally movable and door-supporting engagement between the hangerand track, while being upwardly distortable against the track andpermitting such disengagement upon a positive upward force being appliedagainst the door and hanger.

Various hanger and track combinations have heretofore been provided forlongitudinally slidably mounting doors in door openings. Furthermore,one of the age-old problems with sliding doors has been just how toslidably mount the same relative to the door opening normally positivelyretained positioned and slidable, yet relatively easily originallyinstalled and relatively easily selectively removable without thecomplete disassembly of various of the hanger and track parts. Forinstance, the most common method of slidably supporting doors in dooropenings is to secure a supporting track extending longitudinally of thedoor opening at the upper edge thereof and provide hangers on the doorwhich may be engaged transversely over and downwardly into the track toslidably support the door thereon.

lf merely the simple form of hook-shaped track and opposite hook-shapedhangers on the door are provided with adequate clearance, it is possibleto longitudinally movably support the door on the track -merely throughslight transverse inward movement of the hangers relative to the trackwhile retained thereabove and then downward interengagement through alowering of the door, but such construction, without more, is readilysubject to inadvertent disengagement and a freeing of the door from thetrack when such action is not desired. As a result, many priorconstructions, although basically using this simple construction, haveadded various ilanges and other forms of keepers to the hangers or trackwhich may be installed once proper supporting engagement between thedoor hangers and track has been obtained, such flanges and keepersinterfering with upward movement of the door relative to the track andthereby preventing inadvertent disengagement therefrom. This method ofsafe securement, however, is relatively unpopular and objectionable inuse since it is `quite a time-consuming operation, usually involving theoriginal installation and subsequent removal and replacement of a seriesof fasteners for original installation and subsequent removal andre-installation of the doors on the track. i

In order to eliminate these time-consuming operations, other priorconstructions have included a form of interengagement between the trackand door hangers which cannot be disengaged merely through verticalupward movement of the door relative to the track, but rather requires asimultaneous inward or outward tilting of the door relative to the dooropening in order to complete the disengagement. Although this tiltingform of disengagement is safe in use and avoids the problem ofinadvertent disengagement between the door and track, there are manyoccasions where the same may not be used due to the lack of space forpermitting such door tilting. Also, where overlapped sliding doors areto be provided, the most usual case of sliding door installation, thiscomplex manipulation for engagement and disengagement between the doorsand tracks becomes even more difcult and prohibitive.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of thisinvention to provide an improved hanger and track for sliding doors andthe like wherein longitudinally movable mounting of a door in a dooropening is accomplished through interengagement of door hangers with atrack at an upper edge of the door opening and a unique fonmof keeper isformed on the door hangers securely retaining the door supported on thetrack during normal use, yet permitting selective disengagement andre-engagement between the door hangers and track merely through verticaland slight transverse movement of the door relative to the track. Withsuch construction, it is unnecessary to inordinately tip or angle thedoor relative to the door opening, but rather the door may remainperfectly upright in natural hung position during original installation,or for later selective removal and re-installation, the only motionbeing required being that of slight upward and transverse movementrelative to the door opening and overhead suporting track installedtherein. Furthermore, there is no requirement of the removal offasteners for the separation of llanges or keepers from either thesupporting track or door hangers, the unique keeper construction of thepresent invention maintaining the door hangers properly engaged with thesupporting track during use, but still permitting the separation betweenthe door hangers and the supporting track upon the application ofpositive disengagement forces of the proper form. i

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved hangerand track for sliding doors and the like wherein despite the markedadvantages over anything heretofore provided, the unique keeper conceptof the invention may be carried out with a keeper construction, althoughspecifically placed, of uncomplicated nature, relatively simple form andpositive of operation for performing the desired functions. Thepreferred form of the keeper is comprised of a resiliently deformableflangelike member projecting generally transversely from the door hangeror hangers and adjacent an underside of the supporting track when thedoor hanger is properly movably engaged with said track, the keepernormally resisting upward movement of the door hanger and door securedthereto during normal movement of the hanger and door relative to thetrack. When it is desired to disengage the hanger from the supportingtrack for removal of the door from the door opening, however, theresilient deformability of the unique keeper will permit slight upwardand transverse movement of the hanger and door relative to thesupporting track when such positive disengagement forces are appliedthereto, the reengagement merely requiring the reverse movement of therespective elements.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an improvedhanger and track for sliding doors and the like which satisfies all ofthe foregoing objects, yet may be provided at a minimum material andlabor expenditure. Again in the preferred form, the hanger with itsunique keeper may be formed unitary of various plastic materials withincreased cross sectional dimensions being used in the main portion ofthe hanger for the necessary rigidity and door-supporting strengththereof, and with the cross sectional dimensions of the keeper beingreduced from the main portion thereof to provide the functionallynecessary resilient deformability of the keeper for proper coaction inthe combination as described. Also, the supporting track may be formedof similar plastic to even further increase the economics of the overallconstruction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawings which are for thepurpose of illustration only.

BRIEF 'DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, frontelevational view of a typical door opening having overlapped slidingdoors installed therein by use of an embodiment of the improved hangerand track construction of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view looking in thedirection of the arrows 2 2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional View taken fromFIG. 2 and illustrating the simplified operation of disengaging the doorhangers from their supporting tracks during removal of one of the doorsfrom the door opening; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the door hangers removed from theassembly shown in FIGS. l and 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST EMBODIMENT CONTEMPLATED Referring to FIGS. 1 and2 of the drawings, a typical door opening is generally indicated athaving typical front and rear, generally rectangular and longitudinallyoverlapped door panels generally indicated at 12 and 14 installedtherein by use of a preferred embodiment of the improved hanger andtrack combination of the present invention. As is also typical, the doorpanels 12. and 14 are vertically suspended longitudinally slidable ormovable relative to each other from an upper door frame member 16exposing or closing off desired portions of the door opening 10 duringsuch longitudinal movement. Furthermore, such suspension of the doorpanels 12 and 14 maintains the panels spaced above a lower door framemember 18 within which are installed usual upwardly projecting doorguides 20 at the normal overlapped zones of the panels with the doorguides being upwardly received into longitudinal grooves in panel loweredges 24.

`More particularly to the improved hanger and track construction of thepresent invention, a track assembly member generally indicated at 26 issecured recessed within the upper door frame member 16 and includes apair of transversely spaced, longitudinally extending tracks generallyindicated at 28 formed integrally thereon. Each of the tracks 28 isgenerally L-shaped in transverse cross section opening upwardly andhaving a lower, generally horizontal and transverse base 30 terminatingtransversely forwardly in an upwardly projecting flange 32 so as tolikewise open transversely forwardly. As shown, it is preferred to formthe track assembly member 26 with the pair of tracks 28 unitary,preferably from plastic such as one of the polyvinyl or acrylic plasticsand of sufficient cross sectional thickness so as to be relativelyrigid.

As shown in the particular embodiment illustrated, each of the front andrear door panels 12 and 14 is suspended on its respective track 28 ofthe track assembly member 26 by a pair of longitudinally spaced hangersgenerally indicated at 34, although it is obvious that a singleelongated hanger or more than two spaced hangers could be used for eachdoor panel depending on the particular sizes, weights and conditionsinvolved. In any event, each of the hangers 34 includes a supportingportion 36, preferably of inverted, generally L-shaped transverse crosssection, downwardly connected to a fastening portion 38, whichpreferably extends generally vertically, and a rearwardly projecting,resiliently deformable keeper 40, which extends rearwardly of thesupporting and fastening portions. Also, a positioning flange 42 may beconnected extending forwardly of the fastening and supporting portions36 and 38 in order to preset the positioning of the hangers 34 on theirrespective door panels 12 and 14 as will be hereinafter described.

As was true of the track assembly member 26, the hangers 34 arepreferably formed unitary so that all portions thereof are integral andlikewise are preferably formed from a plastic, such as a polyvinyl oracrylic plastic. Furthermore, as clearly shown, particularly in FIGS. 2and 4, each of the hangers 34 has the supporting and fastening portions36 and 38 thereof, and the positioning flange 42 thereof formed ofrelatively thickened transverse cross sections so as to be relativelyrigid. The keeper 40` of each of the hangers 34, however, is formed of areduced transverse cross section compared to the portions and flange soas to be relatively resiliently deformably or distortable.

As shown in installed positioning in FIG. 2, the hanger fasteningportions 38 are secured abutting rear surfaces 44 of the respective doorpanels 12 and 14 by usual fasteners 46 with the hanger positioningflanges 42 overlying and abutting panel upper edges 48, the positioningflanges serving to locate the hangers 34 properly on the respective doorpanels. The hangers 34 as installed with the tracks 28 of the trackassembly member 26 are positioned with the hanger supporting portions 36extending upwardly and outwardly along the track flanges 32, over theupper extremities of said flanges and downwardly into the tracks 28,such downward engagement being accomplished by a downwardly projectingflange S0 on the hanger supporting portions 36 lying transverselyinwardly of the track flange 32 as shown. With the hanger supportingportions 36 thusly engaged with the tracks 28, the hanger keepers 40lunderlie the track bases 30, the keepers projecting transverselyinwardly from the hanger supporting and fastening portions 36 and 38spaced downwardly from the track bases 30 and preferably' arcuatelyupwardly terminating inwardly slightly spaced from said track bases butadjacent thereto.

As may be particularly noted in FIG. 2, any spacing of the inwardextremities of the hanger keepers 40 downwardly from the track bases 30is far less and a very small fraction of described downward projectionof the flanges 50 of the hanger supporting portions 36 within the tracks28 and as interengaged rearwardly of the track flanges 32. Thus, innormal position and without distortion or deformation thereof, thehanger keepers 40 maintain the hanger supporting portions 36 engagedwith the tracks 28 while permitting free movement of the hangers andtheir supported door panels 12 and 14 longitudinally along and guided bythe tracks 2S. As illustrated herein, the hangers 34 are merelylongitudinally slidable along the tracks 28 with the interfacing plasticsurfaces of the respective elements forming the door panel supportingand bearing surfaces, but it is obvious that the common sliding doorrollers and other arrangements could be used as desired for formingsimilar interengagement between the hangers and tracks, all of which arewell known to those skilled in the art.

When it is desired to remove either of the door panels 12 or 14 fromtheir longitudinally movable support on the tracks 28, it is merelynecessary to positively move the particular door panel directly andpositively upwardly as clearly illustrated in FIG. 3, until the flanges50 on the hangers 34 are above the track anges 32, thereby distorting ordeforming the hanger keepers 40, through the resilient deformabilitythereof, against the track bases 30. A following slight transversemovement outwardly of the particular of the door panels 12 or 14 willthen disengage the hangers 34 from the tracks 28 so as to permitcomplete removal of the door panels while still maintaining the same intheir usual vertically extending positions. The original installation orthe later re-installation after removal of the door panels 12 and 14 forsupport and longitudinal movement on the tracks 28 is merely the reverseprocedural movement described, the hangers 34 ultimately beinginterengaged with the tracks 28 and the keepers 40 being permitted toreturn to their undistorted or undeformed positions as shown in FIG. 2ready for maintaining proper interengagement between the hangers andtracks during normal longitudinal movement of the door panels.

According to the principles of the present invention, therefore, animproved hanger and track for sliding doors and the like is provided,including a unique form of positively retained interengagement betweenthe door panel hangers 34 and the door panel supporting tracks 28wherein the door panels are properly longitudinally movable or slidablealong the tracks in normal use, yet the door panels may be quickly andconveniently disengaged from the tracks and removed from the dooropening merely through slight upward and transverse movement relative tothe tracks. As a result, the door panels 12 and 14 may be originallyinstalled, or removed and re-installed in the door opening 10 for theirlongitudinal movement without the removal of any keepers or flanges andwithout any great amount of tilting which has been previously requiredwith many of the prior art constructions. Furthermore, the hanger andtrack construction providing the foregoing advantages is of uniquesimplicity and may be provided at a minimum of cost, as well asproviding a savings in installation time and cost.

I claim:

1. Hanger and track construction for sliding doors and the like, thecombination of: an elongate longitudinal track opening upwardly andterminating transversely in an upwardly projecting ange; and a hangercomprising an inverted generally L-shaped supporting portionlongitudinally movably engaged extending upwardly adjacent an outer sideof said track flange and generally transversely over said track flangeand downwardly into said track, a fastening portion connected to saidsupporting portion outward of said track and having means thereon formounting a door supported longitudinally movable by said hanger, akeeper portion connected to said supporting portion projecting generallytransversely adjacent and underlying said track normally restrictingsaid supporting portion against upward and transverse outwarddisengaging movement relative to said track and track flange, saidkeeper portion including resilient means for permitting distortion ofsaid keeper portion upwardly against said track and upward andtransverse disengagement of said supporting portion from said track upona force being applied moving said hanger upwardly and transverselyoutwardly of said track and track ange.

2. Hanger and track construction as defined in claim 1 in which saidtrack keeper portion normally projects from said supporting portiongenerally transversely and upwardly to adjacent said track.

3. Hanger and track construction as defined in claim 1 in which saidhanger is formed unitary of plastic, said supporting and fasteningportions being of increased cross section relative to said keeperportion and being relatively rigid compared to said keeper portion, saidkeeper portion being of decreased cross section relative to saidsupporting and fastening portions and being relatively resilientcompared to said supporting and fastening portions.

4. Hanger and track construction as defined in claim 1 in which saidtrack is formed of plastic and is generally L-shaped in transverse crosssection; in which said hanger is formed unitary of plastic, saidsupporting and fastening portions being of increased cross sectionrelative t0 said keeper portion and being relatively rigid compared tosaid keeper portion, said keeper portion being of reduced cross sectionrelative to said supporting and fastening portions and being relativelyresilient as compared to said supporting and fastening portions; and inwhich said hanger keeper portion normally projects generallytransversely and upwardly from said supporting portion to adjacent saidtrack.

5. Hanger and track yconstruction for sliding doors and the like, thecombination of: an elongate longitudinal track opening upwardly andterminating transversely in an upwardly projecting range; and aninverted generally L-shaped hanger longitudinally movaibly engagedupwardly transversely over said track flange and downwardly into saidtrack, said hanger having means for supporting a door thereon andlongitudinally movable therewith, a resiliently distortable keeper onsaid hanger projecting adjacent and underlying said track normallyrestricting upward movement of said hanger preventing upward andtransverse disengagement of said hanger from said track, said keeperthrough said resilient distortability thereof permitting generallytransverse disengagement between said hanger and track upon said hangerbeing moved upwardly relative to said track resiliently distorting saidkeeper upwardly against said track.

6. Hanger and track construction as defined in claim 5 in which saidhanger keeper is formed of a resiliently distortable plastic.

7. Hanger and track construction as defined in claim 5 in which saidhanger is formed unitary of plastic, said hanger keeper having at leastparts thereof of reduced cross section compared to the remainder of saidhanger forming said keeper relatively resiliently distortable and saidhanger remainder relatively rigid.

`S. Hanger and track construction as defined in claim 5 in which saidhanger is formed unitary of plastic, said hanger keeper having at leastparts thereof of reduced cross section compared to the remainder of saidhanger 7 8 forming said keeper relatively resiliently distortable and3,293,685 12/ 1966 Rosenbaum 16-87.6 said hanger remainder relativelyrigid; and in which said 3,516,113 6/ 1970 Hechtel 1696 X hanger keeperprojects from said hanger normally spaced downwardly of said track andnormally extends upwardly FOREIGN PATENTS t d' 'd f o a jacent sal track271,581 s/1965 Australia 49-409 References Cited 476,129 12/ 1937 GreatBritain 16-876 UNITED STATES PATENTS J. KARL BELL, Primary Examiner3,178,760 4/1965` Kalal et a1. 16-87.6 10 U.S. C1. X.R.

3,198,243 8/1965` Ford 160-345 X 16-94

